Editors' Top Reads: News from K18, EviDenS de Beauté and more...

Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.beauty team.

What is behind the spending boom in the beauty sector?

Did anyone else know that beauty is now classified as an 'essential'? It would have been nice to have that recognised by my school as a pubescent teen, but we can't have everything.

Barclays data has shown that consumer spending on health and beauty is up by 7.3% year-on-year as of August 2024. But why have we all become so beauty mad? Yes, social media, but that's not the only factor propelling us face first into a beauty boom.

Sophie Jenkins, Global Marketing Director at Beauty Pie, said: "Members are looking for higher quality and affordable products from the comfort of their home, making the beauty shopping experience more convenient and accessible than traditional retail businesses."

This feature neatly summarises the full explanation for 2024's beauty mania, enabling all of our Baileys-fuelled makeup and skincare purchases this festive season.

Katie Ross, Content Marketing & Events Executive.

Retailers set for £3.04 billion boost this 'Panic Weekend'

I've taken a very organised approach to Christmas this year, with pretty much all of my presents already purchased and wrapped. Well, all except one... meaning I will be joining the hordes of last minute shoppers this weekend to pick up one last gift ahead of the big day.

And I put emphasis on "hordes" as, with less than a week to go until Christmas, new data this week has revealed that shoppers are expected to spend £3.04 billion this "Panic Weekend" (21-22 December) as they rush to finish their Christmas shopping.

That's according to VoucherCodes, which forecasts a "strong" weekend of sales for brands and retailers, with 39.3 million consumers expected to shop either in-store or online, giving businesses the chance to capitalise on Brits who have left their shopping to the eleventh hour. Read more insights here.  

Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer. 

The Interview: Suveen Sahib, founder of industry-disrupting haircare brand K18

K18 has undeniably taken the world of haircare by storm, making damaged locks a thing of the past. So, when I got the opportunity to interview its co-founder, Suveen Sahib, the brains behind the patented haircare technology, I jumped at it.

The revolutionary brand is taking over as one of the leading haircare brands to restore hair and prevent damage – knocking aside one of the leading haircare brands (without naming names). Using the power of nature and human biology (otherwise known as biotech), rather than cosmetics chemistry, the haircare brand unlocks new solutions to the biggest challenges when it comes to healthy hair.

I first heard about K18 from my sister, who is on a constant quest for healthy hair. After pinching some of her Leave-in Molecular Repair Hair Mask (the brand's breakthrough product), I was instantly a convert. It has given me the confidence to dip my toes back into the world of highlights.

This interview is not only a lesson in biotech but also how to create a truly unique product and market it to build a global brand. Read the full interview here.

Chloé Burney, Senior News & Features Writer.

The Interview: Charles-Edouard Barthes on creating Haute Couture skincare at EviDenS de Beauté

One day I will own an item of Haute Couture fashion; I have a Mrs Harris Goes to Paris fantasy that involves me being expertly fitted, not for a Dior dress (though I do want one of those) but a Chanel tweed trouser suit. Sadly, that will have to remain in the realms of fantasy for the foreseeable future, if not forever. But I have been lucky enough to sample some "Haute Couture skincare" in the form of a selection of products from French luxury brand EviDenS de Beauté – and the experience did not disappoint.

If there is a skincare brand that smells nicer than this, I haven't tried it (and I've tried loads) and its Total Shield SPF50 goes on like a dream and is the perfect protective base before applying make-up. The Night Recovery Mask (which is basically a miraculous pink jelly) has perked up my parched skin on many occasion. This is seriously good skincare that lives up to the hype (just as a Chanel tweed suit would, I'm sure!).

I also had the good fortune to spend some time with its founder Charles-Edouard Barthes on a recent trip he made to London to check in on his recently opened counter in the White Hall on the ground floor of Harrods (the brand has been on the fifth floor in the hair and beauty department since 2011). It was a great pleasure to learn about his belief that high performance skincare and luxury skincare rituals need not be mutually exclusive (as mystifyingly they so often are) and how the brand has been performing now it sits among some better known global names in the historic department store's famous beauty hall. Read the interview here.

Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.